Enmanuel De Jesus’ heroic WBC effort just earned him big promotion with Tigers

No one thought anything of Enmanuel De Jesus when the Tigers signed him to a minor league deal in December. (In fact, we were rather disparaging about the move ourselves).

But who could blame us? De Jesus has pitched all of 6 1/3 innings the majors — all in 2023 for the Marlins — for a 11.37 ERA, before spending two seasons in the KBO, pitching 335 innings for a 3.81 ERA. At best, it looked like the Tigers would get an innings-eater they could call up in the dog days.

But De Jesus was turning heads at spring training before he left to represent Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. He made two appearances for 6 1/3 total innings and didn't yield an earned run, but he struck out seven in his second outing.

The Tigers' bullpen isn't totally settled, and De Jesus certainly started to put together a strong case for himself. And then, in his first start for Venezuela against Team Israel on Saturday, De Jesus pitched five innings and struck out eight — a single-game record for Venezuela — while only allowing one earned run on a Matt Mervis single.

On Tuesday, Daniel Álvarez-Montes reported that the Tigers will be adding De Jesus to their 40-man roster. He was "in conversations with a team in Asia," but the move will keep him with the Tigers for the foreseeable future.

Enmanuel De Jesus' historic WBC effort made his case to join Tigers' Opening Day roster

That isn't a guarantee he'll make the Opening Day roster, but it certainly bodes well for his chances and at least reflects the Tigers' desire to keep him in their back pocket throughout 2026.

The Tigers' rotation is set, but the bullpen still has plenty of room. Kenley Jansen, Kyle Finnegan, Will Vest, Tyler Holton, and Drew Anderson might be the only ones currently guaranteed a spot on the roster. Troy Melton has been delayed with arm soreness, Beau Brieske has only thrown 1 1/3 while dealing with rib cage soreness, and the Tigers haven't been impressed by what they've seen out of Brant Hurter and Brenan Hanifee.

Anderson will be the Tigers' go-to swingman, but De Jesus could fill that role well. Or he could go the way of Keider Montero, who the Tigers sent down to Triple-A to keep him in a starter's routine and have him ready to go at a moment's notice in the event of an injury in the rotation.

Either way, the Tigers are clearly liking what they see. Venezuela is advancing to the knockout stages, and De Jesus is sure to figure into the plans if they get to the later stages. If he manages to pitch a few more innings in really meaningful games? He might make the decision on his Opening Day status very easy on the Tigers.